Louie worked deftly as she wrapped her patient's wrist in a tight split. A sheen of sweat had a appeared on the boy's face and his mouth was a tight line. His back was rigid as he controlled his vocal cords. Finishing off the split with one last knot, Louie stood

"Stay here and I'll get you something for the pain," Louie said.

As she wound her way through the Med Wing to the far end, she made quick work of redoing her bun, snatching up the stray hairs that had fallen out of place in the last few hours of hurried work. She was heading back to the cot containing her patient when Peyton stepped inside, his pack slung over his shoulder.

He didn't notice Louie as he made his way to the back of the Med Wing, stopping to sit on the cot beside the doctor. Louie crouched beside the boy and handed him a cup of water and two small pills.

"Take these, they will help the pain and rest here for awhile, your body is still in shock from the break and you need to let yourself rebalance. Someone will check on you in half an hour, if you're still in pain, let them know and we can give you something stronger," Louie said.

The boy nodded, popping the pills into his mouth with his uninjured hand and then taking the cup from Louie. The boy rested back on the cot, his body seeming to relax as his eyes fell shut. The woman, who had been waiting off to the side, moved forward as Louie stepped away, settling on the edge of the cot and stroking the boy's forehead. Louie walked over to where Peyton sat, leaning forward over his knees. He looked up as he heard her footsteps.

"How is he doing?" Peyton asked.

Louie folded her hands behind her.

"He's recovering. His head wound is almost completely healed. He should wake up in the next few days."

Peyton stood, giving the man one final look before turning to Louie. He opened his mouth to say something but a small voice called his name. Instinctively both Louie and Peyton turned to the source of the voice, finding the girl that had woken that morning. The girl had been moved to a more central cot and was sitting up, eyes trained on Peyton. He walked over to her bed and knelt beside her.

"Hey, you're awake. How are you doing?" Peyton asked, his voice low and calming.

Every muscle in the girl's tight body seemed to soften at the sound, her arms unwrapping themselves from her bent knees.

"Alright. Peyton, where are we?" the girl asked, a hint of fear caught in her words.

"We're at the Compound I told you about. You're safe. This is your new home and these people are going to take care of you. You'll like it here. I already saw some kids about your age and they were reading books."

The girl's face lit up.

"Real books?"

Peyton nodded, giving the girl a warm smile. Louie felt her lips twitch at his tone of voice but forced the smile from her face.

"Now you have to rest and get better so you can read them. Alright?"

"Okay. Peyton you're not leaving are you?" the girl asked, already laying down.

Peyton lifted the blanket over the girl.

"No, I'm not leaving yet."

"Good."

Peyton stood as the girl curled her arms around the pillow, the lines of worry and shock erased from her delicate face. Peyton's gaze moved to Louie and her face shifted back into a calm neutral expression.

"Have you been looked at today?" Louie asked.

Peyton shook his head. Louie gestured to an empty cot on the opposite side of the Wing.

"Please sit, I'll be back with your chart."

Louie grabbed a clipboard, bearing Peyton's information, from a hook on the wall and moved over to him. She read over the pages quickly, then set the chart aside.

"I'm going to check your head wound, see how its healing," Louie said.

Her fingers moved to the spot on his head, that a few days ago had a lump the size of an egg, but now was smooth. Louie stepped back, picking up the clipboard.

"You're head is healing up well. How are you feeling? Any dizziness? Vertigo? Light headedness? Headaches?"

"I have headaches."

"Is it a throbbing pain or just intense pressure?"

"Intense pressure."

Louie made a quick note.

"That's normal with a concussion, I'll get you something for that."

Louie strode off and returned a second later with a cup of water and a single pill.

"This will help with the inflammation." Peyton took the pill and cup of water.  "Everyday when you come to the Med Wing for your check up you'll get one of these. Let one of us know when your headaches go away. Now if you will stand and remove your shirt."

Peyton stood, pulling his pack off his shoulder. He removed his shirt, his mouth a thin slash with the small movement. He tossed his shirt on the cot and Louie removed the bandage around his waist. Large bruises had bloomed along his sides, rings of deep purple and blue covering the ribs on his left.

Louie made another note on the chart and looked to his right side, nodding as the small bruise there had almost completely disappeared. Her finger moved gently over the area, Peyton flinching at the touching. Louie straightened.

"Your right side is healing nicely, though your left is still going to take a couple more weeks to completely heal. You had the most broken ribs on that side. How much pain are you in?"

Peyton shrugged.

"Not too much that I can't bear it."

"Alright."

Louie looked Peyton over and for the first time she became aware of the scars that riddled his body. Thin white lines where cuts had healed years ago marred his chest, arms and abdomen. Some scars were barely bigger than her thumb while others were a foot long, reaching from his shoulder across his chest. Louie wondered what kind of situations he must have been in to receive so many. Peyton coughed and Louie brought her gaze up.

"You have an impressive array of scars," Louie said.

"My first years outside weren't my best."

Louie nodded, her eyes moving back down to his body, before looking up again.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess when you started running low on food, you were the first one to stop eating," Louie said, noticing that his body still had a shrunken look.

Peyton didn't respond, but he didn't need to, Louie's eyes already told her she was correct in her deductions.

"You may put on your shirt now. Have you had dinner yet?" Louie asked.

Peyton held back a grimace as he pulled the shirt over his head, and slung the pack onto his shoulder.

"No."

"Alright, you'll come with me. Your body can handle more food now and I'll see to it your ration portion is increased."

Louie wrote a few remaining notes into the chart and replaced it. They stepped out of the Med Wing, the Compound's usual buzz slightly quieted as workers finished projects and headed to dinner.

"So what about you?" Peyton asked.

Louie gave him a puzzled glance.

"I'm sorry?"

"Any scars?"

Louie faced forward, her shoulders stiffening.

"None like you have. I haven't been beyond the barrier."

"You haven't been outside?"

"No, not yet," Louie said curtly.

Louie wove her way through the crowded throng, people stepping out of her way. Marie was directing a group of middle aged women when Louie found her, Peyton close on her heels.

"Marie, I need to talk to Philip, have you seen him?" Louie asked.

A teasing grin broke across Marie's face when she spotted Peyton over Louie's shoulder.

"Hi there pumpkin pie."

"Marie," Louie prompted.

Marie arched an eyebrow, the only expression of annoyance she used.

"He's on the other end, with distribution," Marie said.

"Thank you."

Marie nodded without a word, her smile peeking through as Louie walked away and Peyton was momentarily in her line of sight. He gave her a short smile and trailed behind Louie. Philip gave a closed lip smile to Louie as she approached.

"Philip, this is Peyton Jones. Peyton, Philip oversees the meal proportions, making sure everyone gets the exact amount they need," Louie said.

Peyton shook the thin hand.

"Pleasure," Philip said.

"Philip, I need Peyton's meal proportion to be increased by an extra half."

Philip nodded, flipping through his thick chart before finding the right page and making a note.

"Do you want dinner now?" Philip asked.

"Yes."

Philip barked out an order and two trays were brought forward minutes later. Steam rose in small clouds from the plates, a warm aroma filling the air.

"Here you are," Philip said.

Peyton took his tray, looking to Louie. Noticing his hesitation, she spoke.

"There is no specific seating arrangements. You can choose where you want to sit," Louie said.

She turned away, heading to the far back table, settling in, facing the crowded dining area. Families laughed together, their voices rising like the steam and filling the area space with a different kind of warmth. Teenagers huddled close together over their food, occasionally glancing around at something or someone before ducking back and talking hurriedly. A tray settled beside Louie and she looked up.

"Would you mind?" Peyton asked.

Louie shook her head and moved further down the bench allowing a large amount of space for Peyton to sit. Silence fell over their table, as they fell to eating, neither of them feeling much pressure for conversation. A girl in her late teens walked past their table, stopping for a brief moment.

"Hi, Peyton," the girl said.

Peyton nodded at her.

"Hi, Sarah."

Sarah attention flicked to Louie and her smile dropped an inch.

"Hello, Louie," Sarah said.

Louie looked at the girl, her expression neutral.

"Hi, Sarah. How's your ankle feeling?"

Reflexively, Sarah shifted on to her right foot.

"It's fine."

"Good, if it acts up again just stop by the Med Wing and someone can give you a brace for support."

Sarah nodded and then left, glancing to Peyton one last time, the smile returning in full force. Before either of them had a chance to continue eating Jacob walked over.

"Hey, Peyton, how do those clothes fit? Cause I can always hook you up with another set if they don't fit right," Jacob said.

"They're fine, thank you."

Jacob clapped Peyton on the shoulder genially.

"Glad to hear it. I look forward to working with you."

Louie waited for Jacob to make some indication that he noticed her, but Jacob turned and walked away without a single glance in her direction. Peyton looked at Louie, but she dropped her head, determinedly focusing on her food. The rest of their meal passed in a stiff silence until Ryland approached, closely followed by his father. They settled on the opposite side of the table. Mr. Andrews exchanging a short nod with Louie, before his gaze fell to Peyton.

"Ryland Andrews, Storage manager," Ryland said, holding out a hand to Peyton.

"Peyton Jones."

They shook hands, Ryland sizing up Peyton in one glance. Mr. Andrews held out his hand to Peyton, with just his name for introduction. After a brief pause, Ryland shifted his attention to Louie.

"Hey Lou, we had something we wanted to talk with you about if you have a second," Ryland said.

Louie kept her face expressionless, though annoyance flashed in her eyes.

"Now is fine, what is it?"

Ryland leaned forward over the table.

"We were thinking, that instead of Chief giving the welcoming speech, you and I do it. You know a kind of showing the face of the next generation sort of thing. Of course you would naturally do it on your own, but we all know when it comes to public relationships you aren't the strongest. So I figured I could step in and help fill in for part. You would speak first and I could just add a little on the end," Ryland said, flashing her a bright, charming smile.

Louie looked to Mr. Andrews trying to read his thoughts in his expression, but his features revealed about as much as her's did.

"Have you talked to Chief about this change?" Louie asked.

"It was the Chief's idea," Mr. Andrews said, in his low gravelly voice.

"Alright, then we'll do it."

Ryland winked at Louie and stood, slapping the table in the process.

"Great," Ryland said.

They left and Peyton's gaze fell to Louie, but she was already looking back down at her food, finishing off the last of it. She lifted her head when heavy treads moved by their table.

"Evening Elouise." Chief gave Louie a small smile, then his focus shifted to Peyton. "Peyton Jones, I believe. I'm Chief, the leader of the Compound. I'm happy to welcome you," Chief said.

Peyton took the extended hand, with a slight bow of his head.

"Thank you."

The rest of the council members who stood beside Chief gave their introductions, all welcoming Peyton with hand shakes. As they moved off to a more secluded table, most gave Louie a curt nod when they passed, others too lost in their conversation to notice her there. Irritation surged at the base of Louie's neck, but she took a deep breath and let it out, stiffening her shoulders. She was on the verge of standing when Peyton's voice made her pause.

"How old are you?" he asked.

Louie settled back into her seat, turning towards him, sitting upright.

"Eighteen.

"And you're what? Second in command?" Peyton said, his eyes speaking the hesitation.

"In a sense, yes. Mr. Andrews would technically be equal to my position but I am the one who will take over when Chief is no longer fit to fill his role as leader."

Peyton's eyes narrowed.

"Really?"

"Yes, by the time I was fifteen I was learning what it meant to run this place."

"And it has nothing to do with the fact that Chief is your father."

Louie was surprised he knew, but realized Chief had called her Elouise, when everyone else called her Louie.

"No, that plays it's part, it's because of that fact I was brought in so young, but it makes no difference. I was born here, and though most everyone has lived the majority or all of their lives here, no one knows this Compound better than I do."

Louie rose and collected her tray, leaving Peyton to think over her role and come to realize just how much in charge she was.

*******************

The Compound was still, most of its lights extinguished for the night. Louie stepped out of the Med Wing, the last stop on her nightly rounds, making sure the head night nurse was settled and all the patients were taken care of before leaving. Dim fluorescent lights lit her path back to the Cage. Hushed conversations floated from Housing as she passed, even a quiet lullaby could be heard faintly in the distance.

The Cage was silent as she moved down her row, and collected her night clothes from her bunk. She changed before climbing to her bunk and sitting on the edge. Heavy breathing filled the space around her, sounding like the distant wind and making her feel as if she were the only person left in the Compound. She rested her feet on the edge of the bunk, her arms falling over her bent knees as her eyes roamed aimlessly over the huddled figures, all lost to the worries of the world, soothed by dreams.

Bit by bit the mask fell from Louie's face, the emotionless expression slipping away, and in its place a troubled frown creeped in. The stiffness in her shoulders melted away and they sagged in relief. Her father's words from earlier that day played over in her mind. She knew he was right, she would make an excellent leader, because he had taught her everything she knew.

This was not a fact that she was scared of, just the future that was before her and the present that she lived with. A sad look reached into her eyes because hand in hand with the notion of her being leader meant as well her father would not be there to see it.

She instinctively straightened her shoulders, pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind. She would be leader, but not for a long time, she still had faith her father was strong enough to keep going for years to come. Her shoulders started to ache at the rigidity and she let them slump once more, releasing a quiet sigh at the same time. The light bulb winked in and out overhead and with another deep breath Louie lifted her blankets and slid underneath, turning her back to the row across from her; unaware of Peyton's eyes watching her.

*****************

Vote. Comment. Follow.